Menzgold and Menzgod: The complexities of a Ghanaian hypocrisy

I sincerely think Menzgold is a social mirror and Nana Appiah Mensah is a part of who we have all become – a society of rusty gold.

To quote Walt Kelly the famous US cartoonist of the 1960s, “we have found the enemy, and he is us”.

As an artist, I am well aware that every once in a while, an obscure rascal emerges from the shadows of society and confronts us in ways that shock and unsettle our social façade. The truth, however, is that, this young man and his cohorts are a made in Ghana product, and a good example of how bad we the people and our institutions of state have degenerated. The question, therefore, is not how he could do what he did but rather how could thousands of Ghanaians work so assiduously to cooperate and produce such a sly fox? Menzgold must be seen as a sociogenic problem which emerged to fill an existing social greed gap which has over the years been widening within our national morality.

Nana Appiah Mensah is admittedly a smart young man, but he has more room for improvement. He could have been smarter if he had copied the style of his Ponzi counterparts in another field who have been running exactly the same scheme for years very much to the admiration of the whole nation— our predatory pastors who work for “Menzgod”.

I am not surprised many have yet to see the parallels in both schemes. You are told to deposit money with Menzgold and get double or more returns. The pastors who work for Menzgod tell you to sow a seed to God and get double or a hundredfold blessing. Which greedy person wouldn’t fall for this lure? I have heard speculations that even some banks and some of their staff withdrew monies to invest in this juicy scheme. Both open branches in all major towns and cities and make a lot of money and live large on your hard earned monies. Both have huge mansions and hobnob with celebrities and politicians to show off their social clout.

Both go about with bodyguards. Both are literally inaccessible and hard to see by their ordinary followers or customers. Both engage in elaborate social spectacles to induce faith and enchant our minds and hearts. Both have or aim to have private jets. Both have a large following whose desperation and greed and folly blind them to reasoning and caution.

Those who sound the alarm bells to warn society about their pernicious activities are branded and vilified. Both have powerful people behind them. In the case of religion, they have and often cite and invoke ancient but powerful Jewish names from the Bible as authorities to support their claims or activities. Additionally, poor God and his innocent son are often dragged into this scheme when they are sitting quietly in “their somewhere” in the iCloud.

Meanwhile, I am wondering why the entire country feels outraged towards one Ponzi scheme while they live comfortably with the other scheme and even shout hallelujah in commitment and praises of it!

It is always a sad irony that the society which produced Menzgold could call for his head to roll. To this end, will the men who have maintained the purity of their gold’s karat, be the ones to cast the first stones?